2020 has been an interesting year for gaming. We’ve seenthe launch of a new generation of consoles, a number of long forgotten franchises rising from the dead andsome truly fantastic games. While the lists of the best and top selling games aremostly filled with the usual suspectsthough, there have been a few titles that crept under the radar and surprised everybody.
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If given a list of the announced and expected titles at the beginning of the year, most gamers could have predicted the ones that were going to perform well with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Thanks to some surprise announcements and some plucky underdogs however, this year in gaming wasn’t quite as predictable as it may have first seemed.
10Monster Train
With overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam and an 85 rating on Metacritic, it’s fair to say thatMonster Trainis, at the very least, a critical success. Sales may not be as a high as some of the other big-hitters of 2020, but, given the size of the team over at Shiny Shoe in comparison to some of the others', the game is a huge achievement.
The developer has a strong track record when it comes to quality games andMonster Traincontinues this tradition. In many ways, it is similar toSlay the Spire, although it introduces some new ideas that help to differentiate it and keep the experience feeling fresh. The gameplay is fluid, the soundtrack is catchy and the art style is gorgeous. For fans of deck-building roguelikes,Monster Trainis an absolute must play.
9Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Speculation about a new Mario All-Stars pack had been rife for quite some time when the special Mario 35th Anniversary Nintendo Direct rolled around. That it andso much new Mario content was announcedall at one time still came as quite a big shock to fans ofthe mustached plumberthough.
TheSuper Mario 3D All-Starspack features three of Mario’s greatest 3D adventures. Whilethey haven’t aged as gracefully as some of the other games of their era, they’restill incredibly enjoyable to play and look great in both handheld and docked modes. The inclusion of a music player and the improved visuals are nice little touches to what is already a near perfect package. It’s just a shame that Super Mario Galaxy 2 didn’t make the final cut.
8Genshin Impact
The free to play market is a crowded onewhere many games get buried beneath the hordes of generic microtransaction fueled titles that are so prevalently placed within it. That one was able to claw its way out from the dogpile and attract the kind of attention thatGenshin Impacthas is therefor an achievement in its own right.
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Its beautifully designed world isbursting at the seams with things to do and places to explorewhile the core gameplay loop is incredibly addictive.It’s far from perfect, but its constantly growing player base suggests that it will be around for long enough for developer miHoYo to continue to make improvements.
7Ghost of Tsushima
At first glance, one would be forgiven for thinking thatGhost of Tsushimawas developed by a Japanese studio.Its depiction of feudal Japan is at times breathtakingand the attention to detail is really quite amazing. That it is actually the work of a Western developer makes this all the more impressive.
One could certainly argue thata PS4 exclusive published by Sony finding success is not too shocking. It should be remembered though that this was Sucker Punch’s first game in six years and by far their largest project to date. With these things in mind, for it to have turned out as amazingly as it did is a big - but welcome - surprise.
6Streets Of Rage 4
A lot has changed in the three decades since the very firstStreets of Ragegame. Thankfully, the series isn’t one of them. Sure, there have been a few quality of life updates and the visuals are a lot crisper, but,at its core, it is still an incredibly enjoyable beat ‘em upwith enough content and challenge to keep players busy for quite some time.
There was a real concern that after such a long hiatus, the Streets of Rage formula might no longer work. Any notions of this are swept away within the first few minutes of playing though. Dotemu did an amazing job and fully deserves all of the praise and revenue thatStreets of Rage 4has generated.
5Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
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Although the game was unable to carry its early momentum throughout the year, it racked uparound 30 million downloads on PS4andmore than 5 million on Steam. Even though a large chunk of those downloads didn’t generate any money for Mediatonic, sales of the game’s in-game currency likely made them a pretty penny.
4There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension
Every now and again,an indie game comes along that transcends the genre.There is no Game: Wrong Dimensionis one of them. The game’s creator, Pascal Cammisotto, faced many setbacks on his quest to make it, includinga failed Kickstarter in 2016. His perseverance paid off however, as the finished game has proven to be a big hit with both players and critics.
It’s asimple point & click comedy adventurethat utilizes a number of different art styles. Its excellent narration is reminiscent ofThe Stanley Parablewhile the often bizarre comedy elements feel like something from the mind of Sacha Baron Cohen. The experience that the game provides is a strange one, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
3Among Us
What makes the runaway success ofAmong Usso surprising is not that it’s a low budget title, but that it was actually released back in 2018. For whatever reason, the initial response to the game was fairly lukewarm. Thanks to the game’s popularity with streamers though, it blew up earlier this year.
The game’s meteoric rise in popularityhad its developers scrambling to improve server stability and implement new features. Whether or not it will be able to hold on to its new player base in the long run remains to be seen. With plans for a sequel now on hold though, it seems that the team at Innersloth believe that it will.
2Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
ThatTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2is an amazing game isn’t the least bit surprising. After all, the original games were two ofthe best extreme sports games of their era. That the remake even exists however is really quite remarkable.
When the surprise announcement came back in May, it had been five years since the last Tony Hawk’s console release andthrice that since the last good one. As such, the series’ return was unexpected to say the least. The final product is by farthe best looking Tony Hawk’s game ever madeand,even in spite of a few flaws, it is one of the most enjoyable entries in the series as well.
1Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
2020 has been a terrible year for humanity, butfor fans of classic gaming franchises, there has at least been a silver lining. TheN. Sane Trilogymay have brought Crash out of retirement back in 2017, but few were expecting a new Crash game. Even those who were could never have foreseen it arriving quite so soon.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Timewas announced at the end of June and released just over three months later. For Crash fans, it was like Christmas coming in October. Thatthe game is actually fantasticwas of course a nice bonus as well. It sold incredibly well in numerous territories, even beating outStar Wars: Squadronsin some countries. With Toys for Bob at the helm, the series once again has a bright future.
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